Seed list

What it means

GlockApps defines a seed list as a list of test email addresses to which each tested message is sent, monitored to check whether messages are received and where. A seed list covers the providers that matter for your audience: Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo and regional or business mail systems.

Seeds are mailboxes nobody reads, so they never open, reply to or rescue your mail, while providers also weigh what each real recipient does. A seed result therefore estimates placement for a new or unengaged recipient.

Two cautions apply when you send to seeds: add them to a normal send rather than a special one, so the test reflects real content and volume, and keep them out of engagement-based suppression rules that would drop them for never opening.